baby boomer – Page 10 – Destination NOW

Answer to Quiz #2

August 3, 2014
Today will be a travel day. We leave Victoria Falls, change planes in Johannesburg, and end up in Cape Town tonight.

I loved YOUR answers to Quiz #2 — and you definitely get points for creativity!

Here are MY answers.
1. Yes, deer have antlers and antelopes have horns. The horns are actually part of the animal’s skull. Antlers are shed every year.

We didn’t see any deer during our safari. Guess I’ll just have to wait till I get home and look on my back yard for one of them!

2. That is a termite mound! Africans use it to build their homes. Termites are edible, but our guide, Sondy chose not to demonstrate. He just dug into the mound with that stick and pulled a couple out for show and tell.

3. The two names are Wildebeest or Gnu hanging out with his buddies, the impalas.

4. Can you see the eagle peeking out of his nest?

5. The impala was dragged up the tree by a leopard who wanted to keep his dinner safe from other predators.

6. There are two correct answers for this one: lower jaw of a hippo, or African bush toilet.

Just flip it over, prop the back up with a stick, and you’re in business!

That’s all for today. Thanks to all who have been playing along. I hope it’s been as good for you as it was for me!

Africa Quiz #2

We had so much fun with the last quiz ( and I believe I am using the papal “we” here), I figured we’d do it again.

1. What is the difference between an antelope and a deer?

2. Which creature built this structure? Hint: the one with the hat is NOT the correct answer!

3. This animal has two popular names. Do you know what they are?

4. What creature built THIS structure?
5. How did this impala get into the tree?

6. What do you think THIS is?

Good luck!
Answers when we get to Cape Town.

Answers to Africa Quiz #1

We are now out of the bush, and into the falls. Victoria Falls, that is. They are quite magnificent, as you can see.

But enough about us. I know what you really want is the answers to that first quiz!

1. Those were indeed elephant tracks. Here’s one of the big guys in action.

As you might imagine they do quite a job on the trees. You can easily tell when a herd has been hanging in an area.

2. When a giraffe eats its leaves, the tree reacts to being over browsed by producing tannins, which makes its leaves bitter. Believe it or not, the tree communicates with neighboring trees, warning them of the danger, so they too produce tannins. How do they communicate? Courtesy of a renewable resource, wind power.
The giraffe is no dummy. It just moseys downwind to the trees that are out of range of the early warning system. Isn’t that amazing?!

3. Yep, that is indeed a hippo under the water. Check out the dental work on this guy.

Want a closer look? Boyd, our guide used a hippo skull to demonstrate how this behemoth protects itself.

4. I believe the warthog had a starring role in The Lion King. They definitely were the stars In Karongwe River Lodge, wandering freely through the camp.

5. Setepi, our guide at Karongwe explained that elephant dung has many uses. For example, you can burn it and inhale the smoke to stop nosebleeds.
AND if you are lost out in the savannah, without food, you can make yourself a dung sandwich (minus the bread,of course). Don’t believe me? Setepi demonstrated. No, he didn’t spit it out. I watched.

6. What he DID spit out was antelope dung. It is true that antelope dung spitting is a popular game—whoever spits the furthest wins. I’m not certain, but I have a hunch only boys engage in that sport. I’ll spare you the photo of antelope dung. It looks like little black pellets.

7. Although hippos kill more humans than rhinos, it is mainly because there are far more of them. The most dangerous animal? It’s the one in a bad mood, standing a few feet in front of you!

At one of our camps, our tent’s deck was literally a couple of feet from the edge of the river. I was sitting on our deck reading, when I heard a splash and saw the big butt of a hippo entering the water about 15 feet away from me. I can’t believe I had a book in my hand instead of my camera!

Congratulations to all who tried. If you didn’t get them all correct, well, not to worry. More quizzes in the coming days, as time and Internet access permit.

Two Hours Till Blast Off

Remember that standard issue duffel bag? The one that all OAT travelers get? I decided I didn’t want to waste time at baggage areas determining which of the identical bags belonged to me, so I did a bit of “bag enhancement”.I know, I know…I probably should have given it some thought BEFORE I went wild with the sharpie markers, but hey, I figured I dramatically decreased the odds that this bag will be stolen. What self respecting thief would want to be seen dragging this along? Besides, a smart thief would suspect the bag’s contents would be equally jumbled and lacking in style.

I very thoughtfully had a “go” at Mike’s bag. A bit less exuberantly, but enough to provide the afore mentioned advantages.

We will be flying almost 8,000 miles. To put that into perspective, it is the equivalent of 2.5 flights from NJ to California, and it will take about the same length of time–15 hours.

We spend the night in Johannesburg then leave the following morning for Karongwe, a game reserve close to Kruger National Park. For all the map lovers, here’s a visual.

Three nights later, we return to Johannesburg. If I’m lucky, I’ll have wildlife photos to post.

Over and out!

Packing for A Month in Africa

OAT’s (Overseas Adventure Travel’s) wonderfully helpful website is loaded with lots of hints from those that have gone before. Thanks to them, I have a good idea of what to pack, and equally important, what NOT to pack.

I need to be prepared for cold mornings and evenings, high mid-day temperatures, and a school visit. Then after the tour ends, Mike and I are on our own in Cape Town for several days.

Suggestions for what to bring for the school visit included uninflated soccer balls and flip-flops plus the usual books, crayons, paper, pens and pencils. I also like to bring along a few frivolous things, like small stuffed animals.

The camps do our laundry every night, so 3 changes of clothes will do the trick, but I also needed a warm jacket, a hat, gloves, plus shorts and tee shirts and a bathing suit. Dressing in layers is key. I also need to plan for our time in Cape Town when we will be without daily laundry service.

I found jumbo zip lock bags at the supermarket and am using them to organize my wardrobe. But will all this, plus toiletries, fit into the duffel bag?

Fortunately, it doesn’t have to. One traveler suggested putting the duffel inside a much bigger bag, then packing everything into that one large suitcase. I tried that, but I easily exceeded the 50 pound weight limit. THEN I decided to check out South African Air’s luggage rules and was very excited to learn that in addition to my carry on, I can have TWO checked bags!!! I’m so used to the United Airlines restrictions, it didn’t occur to me that another airline’s checked baggage policy could be more liberal.

Being able to bring that second bag meant another trip to the Dollar Store for toothbrushes, combs and LOTS more school supplies, plus any odds and ends that I thought might be useful. I packed it all in an old suitcase that I plan to leave in Africa.

So, now my duffel will only contain MY stuff–plus another small duffel that I will use to bring back any purchases I make–good news for sisters, hermana preferida, cousins and other loved ones!

Touring Africa via the movies

To me, travel consists of three almost equally delightful phases:

Phase One – anticipation and preparation
Phase Two – the trip itself
Phase Three – recollection – reliving the experiences through photos and the memories imbedded in my brain.

Right now I am deeply into Phase One, learning as much as I can about the countries we will be visiting, and how best to prepare for the trip itself.

OAT, like Road Scholar, sends an excellent package of preliminary materials. These include what you need to know about the climate, what to pack, visa requirements, necessary immunizations, currencies used in each country, plus a list of books and movies for us Phase One enthusiasts.

Not surprisingly, the movie list included Born Free, Out of Africa, Gorillas in the Mist, the African Queen, Hotel Rwanda, many of which I had already seen. One title I had never encountered was The First Grader, produced by National Geographic Entertainment. It tells the story of Maruge, a former Mau Mau warrior who went to school for the first time at the age of 84. Even though we aren’t going to Kenya, it still is about Africa, and the movie intrigued me, so I borrowed the DVD from the local library.

What a wonderful movie! It is actually two stories. The first tells of Maruge’s determination to take advantage of Kenya’s offer of free education for all, and the obstacles he had to surmount to achieve his goal. The second, through flashbacks, chronicles the Mau Mau uprising in the early 1950’s and the British brutality during that period of colonialism.

I’m so glad I got the DVD because it includes “bonus features”: a short documentary starring the real Maruge and Teacher Jane, interviews with the director, and a peek behind the scenes while the movie was being made. I enjoyed these bonus features as much as the movie, and after watching them, I appreciated the movie even more, because as indicated by the interviews and documentary, the movie didn’t embellish or invent — it just told Maruge’s story.

The movie was shot on location in Kenya, using an actual village school. Only one main character, Teacher Jane, is British. The rest are Kenyans–some are actors, but the children are all the students at that school, and the “movie” villagers are actual villagers. The kids are truly amazing! They had never seen TV or movies before, so they were just going about their normal activities, doing what the “teacher” (the director) told them to do. One sweet little girl was instructed to go over to Maruge to ask him if he was okay. When he responded, she said “when I grow up, I am going to be a doctor so I can make you feel better”. The director wisely kept this unscripted exchange, but because they spoke in their native language, he added English subtitles. Uplifting? Definitely.

How I could have possibly missed the 2010 movie Invictus is beyond me. It was nominated for multiple awards, was directed by Clint Eastwood and starred Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon. But I did. Again, my local library came to the rescue. This was another thoroughly enjoyable movie and for the other 10 people on the planet that also missed it–here’s what it’s about: Nelson Mandela recognizes the healing power of rugby. The Springboks, South Africa’s team, represented apartheid to the black majority and when Mandela came to power they argued that the name and the team colors should be changed. Mandela not only persuaded his countrymen to retain both, but he also actively supported the team in the 1995 world cup competition. This is another uplifting movie about the triumph of the human spirit, and the healing nature of forgiveness.

Movies that didn’t make the list, and at least in MY opinion should have are the two The Gods Must Be Crazy movies. Filmed in Botswana and South Africa, they tell the story of Bushmen encountering the oddities of the modern world. Sweet, funny and thoroughly entertaining, it is also available on HBO.

As you may have suspected, I have a weakness for uplifting, feel good movies!

Seven Selfish Reasons to Become a Cook Island Global Volunteer

It seems that this time of year we feel compelled to create and/or read lists–the ten best movies, the thirty best female vocalists of the decade, five foolproof ways to lose weight, eight helpful hints you can’t live without. So, I figured I might as well jump right onto the ol bandwagon with MY list. LIke Letterman, I’ll do it as a countdown.

7. WAKE UP EVERY MORNING TO THE SOUND OF THE OCEAN

The KiiKii, your home while volunteering, is right smack dab on the ocean. But then, just about everything in Rarotonga is right on the ocean–the island’s interior is completely mountainous. If you have trouble falling asleep to the sound of the waves crashing on the shore, you need to bring earplugs!

6. HANG OUT WITH THE OWNER OF RAROTONGA’S ONLY BREWERY

Yes, Global Volunteers’ country manager is indeed the owner of Matutu Brewery. And, as a Rarotonga resident, James knows everything of importance, like where to get the best pizza I’ve ever tasted! That’s where we were heading right after our brewery tour. Pizza and beer, what could be a better ending to a volunteer’s day?

5. MAKE WONDERFUL NEW FRIENDS

The nicest people become Global Volunteers…take a look

4. LEARN TO DANCE

It seems like everyone on the island sings and dances. Those in the know (like us volunteers) catch the professionals practicing the routine they perform at the local resorts. There is also a show every Saturday at the outdoor market. Here’s a 30 second clip of my favorite dancers. Check out the expression on the little girl’s face, second to the left. Watching her always made me smile.

3. EXPERIENCE A DIFFERENT CULTURE

Cook Islanders are gracious, friendly people who welcome visitors to their island. Family is everything to them. As a volunteer you become a member of the extended family, sharing food and laughter.

Best of all, you learn to appreciate “island time” and a life style that is safer, slower and friendlier than what you might have been used to. You come home more relaxed and more aware of what really matters.

2. ENJOY UNSPOILED BEAUTY

New Zealanders in general, and Cook Islanders in particular, are in tune with nature, and care about preserving the environment–and it shows. No billboards, no litter, no traffic jams–just flowers and mountains and ocean.

Hiking up one of the mountain trails with Niki. Check out the size of those leaves!

1. FALL IN LOVE

Look at these beautiful faces–how could anyone NOT fall in love?

What a wonderful way to spend three weeks!

It’s not ALL work…

Although Global Volunteers work a full week, we have weekends and evenings to enjoy our surroundings. To be tax deductible, however none of the fee we paid can be used for off duty activities, and the organization can’t make leisure arrangements or recommendations.

This is not a problem if you are lucky enough to have someone like Robyn in your group. A “returning” Cook Island volunteer, Robyn was a fantastic resource. During her stay last year, she discovered Air Rarotoga’s day trip to Aitutaki.

It didn’t take much for her to convince THIS group that would be a grand way to spend a Saturday.

Back: Willy, Robyn, Larry Front: Dave, Sally and Niki at the Avarua airport, waiting to meet Paul, our guide. — Back: Willy, Robyn, Larry
Front: Dave, Sally and Niki
at the Avarua airport, waiting to meet Paul, our guide.

We got a great view of Aitutaki and the surrounding motus from the plane.

Paul took us on a quick tour of the island, which allowed us to feast our eyes on some very luxurious accommodations!

The rest of the day was spent snorkeling and visiting various motus.

Our vessel -- and did you notice that beautiful white sand? — Our vessel

While we were sailing, the crew entertained us with songs and stories.

Our captain and his helper. It wasn't even "take your kid to work" day — THEY don’t need an official “take your son to work”day. Our captain with his helper.

Last Christmas, Willy’s wife Niki bought him an underwater camera. I’d say he put it to good use, wouldn’t you?

George, the giant trevally. The leg on the left gives you an idea of George's size and how close he came to us. — George, the giant trevally. The leg on the left gives you an idea of George’s size and how close he came to us.

Another photo by Willy--the giant clam — Another photo by Willy–the giant clam

I didn’t see “Survivor: Cook Islands” when it aired in 2006, but once I got home, I watched the video. I wasn’t interested in tribal councils or challenges. Nope. I just wanted to enjoy all the spectacular background photography. Die-hard fans might recognize some of the sights. The show’s opening shots were very much like our view from the plane.

Big deal--Ozzie captured a bird. Even I could have caught THIS guy. — Big deal–Ozzie captured a bird. Even I could have caught THIS guy.

We were starting to get hungry from all the snorkeling and touring. Fortunately, unlike the “survivors” we didn’t have to catch our food.

P1040139 — Lucky for this guy, we had better options.

Lunch was part of our package, and what a lunch it was!

Robyn clued us in to a special feature of the tour…getting our passports stamped at “One Foot Island”, so called because it is shaped like a giant foot. Its real name is Akaiami Motu. Paul taught the CORRECT pronunciation: “eye-k-yummy”.

It was SO worth the $2!

Time to head back. Another great day, with wonderful friends, in a beautiful corner of the Pacific Ocean.

These hotel "rooms" are over the water. — These bungalows extend over the water, and for a mere $1,20o per night, it could be all yours.

A perfect memory for a snowy New Jersey day!

Long Live the Queen!

Timing is everything in life, and Vaca 139’s was perfect. How many other Global Volunteers got to watch a Rowing Regatta AND witness a Maori coronation? Not many, I assure you!

As one might expect, the coronation took place at the palace. So what comes to mind when you hear word “palace”?

You ready?

I took this picture from the bus (I DO love those bus rides) the day before the big event. If you look closely, you can see the red plastic chairs that were being set up on the palace lawn for the expected guests. Not quite Buckingham Palace, but a whole lot friendlier and far more inclusive.

As mentioned in an earlier post, there was a bit of disagreement over the line of succession, and protesters were anticipated. Not to worry–these guards were ready!

Okay, so maybe this protest wasn’t quite what you might have envisioned either. No riot police, no gas masks, no picketers with signs. In fact, if Willy hadn’t made friends with a Maori lady who translated, I would have figured that the shouting we heard was all part of the celebration.

The Maori are very inclusive, so all were welcome to join in the festivities. Old…

young…

Islanders…

Visitors from the good ol US of A.

Willy and his new friends from Utah — Willy with his new friends from — can you guess? The white shirts are your hint. Utah, of course.

Climbing on walls, trees, chairs, the stage — all was allowed, as everyone tried to see over the crowd to catch a glimpse of the queen.

And here she is, dressed in gold, regally listening to the man serenading her. I’m not revealing how I got that shot, but remember, climbing WAS allowed.

Isn’t it fascinating to see the juxtaposition of tradition and technology?

Cell phones, ipads, microphones--all capturing the action — Cell phones, ipads, microphones–all capturing the action

Sharing food is very much a part of the Maori culture, and this event was no exception. An enormous pig was presented to the queen. Sorry, I wasn’t able to get a shot of the pig–all I could see were the tops of the heads of the several men it took to carry the beast over to her. Not a very compelling image. So, instead, I took pictures of the “take out” packages that were being prepared for all guests.

Coconuts, chicken, pork, sweet potatoes, etc all packed into these biodegradable containers. We could learn a lot from the Maori!

This will give you an idea of how massive an undertaking it was to feed the crowd.

Full disclosure, I haven’t gotten the hang of videoing under the best of circumstances, and this event was a challenge to capture. BUT the singing was beautiful–the crowd quite colorful and entertaining, so if you would like to experience the queen’s entry or listen to the flag raising ceremony, just click and make your way over to YouTube. You’ll feel as if you were there, after imbibing a large quantity of wine perhaps. Or maybe you’ll need to drink some first to flow along with my camera!

Rollin’ Round Rarotonga

Remember the John Candy movie “Planes Trains and Automobiles”? If it had been filmed in Rarotonga it would have been called “Buses, Scooters and Pick Up Trucks”– and we rode them all.

Where else does the bus driver stop to pick up his breakfast and come back with a load of bananas for everyone on the bus? The food stand owner knew we were all going to church, so she wanted to show us a little love.

"Superman", one of my favorite bus drivers--with our gift from "Mama" — “Superman”, one of my favorite bus drivers–with our gift from “Mama”

There are two bus routes on Rarotonga. The Clockwise bus leaves from the center of Avarua on the hour; the Anti-clockwise bus leaves on the half hour. Their only route is the circle around the island that is Rarotonga’s one main road. Although technically there ARE bus stops, standing anywhere by the side of the road and waving enthusiastically works too. And there if there is one thing I have plenty of, it’s enthusiasm!

My other favorite driver was Bob Hopeless, who turns a bus ride into a bona fide tourist attraction.

If you’d like 30 seconds of the Bob Hopeless experience, click this link. If you want more, you’ll just have to visit Rarotonga. And yes, the road was that bumpy, which is one reason I decided against renting a bicycle. The other was bus rides were so bloody much fun!

Maybe in Boston, (at least according to “Cheers”) everyone in the local bar knows who you are; on Rarotonga, it was the bus drivers.

Because we are workers, we get a special red bus pass–10 rides for $20–which almost functioned as an ID badge, differentiating us from the other Pakeha (non-Maori) on the island. Our Global Volunteers fee covers transportation to and from the worksite; any non-work related travel (even going to church) we fund ourselves. Anyway, before too long the drivers were greeting us and they knew exactly where we were headed.

But buses were only one method of transportation. This is a VERY friendly island. Sometimes we’d decide to walk back from school. We’d start off but before we got too far, we’d hear someone shouting our names and we were hopping onto or into one vehicle or another. One day a pick up truck, the next a scooter.
Niki and I jumped out to get ice cream while Patrick (in the front seat) and Willy continued on the last few “blocks” to the KiiKii Motel. My seat was right over the left rear wheel.

Note the water bottle in Willy's hands; note the disappointed look on the boy;s face. Willy had promised to squirt Niki and me, then thought better of it. — Note the water bottle in Willy’s hands; note the disappointed look on the boy’s face. Willy had promised to squirt Niki and me, then reconsidered.

No photos exist of my rides on the back of Engia’s (the principal of Takitumu) motor scooter, but Niki did take this one of me hitching a ride with Bud before our hike up the mountain.

We also got offered rides in regular cars, but what made those trips memorable were the conversations with the drivers. Tora is a Maori who emigrated to Australia and joined the army. He was a military attache to the US army who had served in Afghanistan.

Tora clued us in to the controversy surrounding the upcoming coronation. It seems that a former king had three wives and some thought that the wrong line had been selected to replace the prior queen. He explained that the dissenters would be letting their feelings known at the coronation.

Okay, so NEXT post will be about the coronation. I promise!

There was ONE more method of island transportation that us “three weekers” experienced vicariously. The 10th Annual Vaca Eiva went from November 23 until November 29 and drew rowers from all over the Pacific region: Tahiti, New Zealand, Australia, even one team from Hawaii, and of course The Cook Islands. The racers rowed right by my hotel room, giving me great opportunities to capture the action. Because they all wore event tee shirts and not their team shirts, it was a little tricky to determine who was who. Fortunately, the KiiKii was also home to a Kiwi team and when their supporters started cheering wildly, I started shooting.

The young Kiwis staying at our hotel came in third!

The Tahitians were #1 and 2, but our Kiwi friends did quite well, and were thrilled I had managed to capture the moment for them. And I was thrilled to be able to show MY appreciation for the warmth, friendship and hospitality I experienced while visiting their country by giving something to them. And isn’t that what Global Volunteers is all about?

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